7 tips for mastering the art of Chalkfest

WAUSAU – Most everybody above the age of 12 knows how to use crayons and stay inside the lines of pictures in a coloring book.

But creating chalk art at Wausau's Chalkfest is a whole other animal — it's a feat that requires prowess, practice and planning.

To learn more about what it takes to draw chalk art on The 400 Block, Daily Herald Media headed over to a class organized by the Center for the Visual Arts on Wednesday. We talked with Mort McBain, one of the founders of the festival, now in its 12th year, and walked away with these seven tips that will help you become a Chalkfest connoisseur:

Kneeling over your artwork all day will undoubtedly ignite aches in your joints, so make a point to bring some type of padding.(Photo: File/Daily Herald Media)

1. Bring protection for your knees — and your skin.

This may seem like an obvious tip, but it's something that can be easily overlooked, said McBain, who, despite his best efforts, got sunburned on the back of his hands one year during Chalkfest.

Bring along some SPF to cover yourself — and make sure you lather lotion on the not-so-obvious spots, like the back of your neck or hands. And don't forget protection for your knees.

Kneeling over your artwork all day will undoubtedly ignite aches in your joints, so make a point to bring some type of padding. A simple piece of cardboard will do, McBain said, and it won't smudge your chalk art.

Before you descend on The 400 Block on Saturday, know what you want to create and take along a picture you can work from.(Photo: Melanie Lawder/Daily Herald Media)

2. Plan ahead and have an idea of what you want to draw

Before you descend on The 400 Block on Saturday, know what you want to create and take along a picture you can work from, McBain said.

It could be a photo of the spunky Anna from the ever-popular Disney hit "Frozen" or it could just be your own original sketch. Just be prepared and use your picture as a reference.

"Have something in mind that you want to do," McBain said. "Don't just expect to come down and draw free hand."

To reduce crookedness and uneven lines, artists can use a grid to divide the picture they plan to recreate at Chalkfest into squares.(Photo: Melanie Lawder/Daily Herald Media)

3. Use a grid for your drawing

Drawing in a large space is hard, McBain said, and even if you have a photo for reference, your art's proportions can come out lopsided.

So to reduce crookedness and uneven lines, McBain recommends artists use a grid to divide the picture they plan to recreate at Chalkfest into squares. They then draw the same grid on their squares at Chalkfest and use their grid on their reference picture as a guide.

Using this grid, artists can draw their picture, square by square.

"It's a really simple process," McBain said, adding that using a grid is "almost like paint by numbers."

Start coloring from the top of your drawing and you’ll reduce any hassle or wreckage that may come with starting at the bottom.(Photo: File/Daily Herald Media)

4. Start drawing and coloring from the top of your square, and then proceed downwards

If you know how to mop properly, then you know that it's best to start from the inside of the room and then work your way out so that you end at the door.

If you start in the opposite direction, you end up all the way on the inside of the room and have to walk across the wet floors, dirtying them up again. For chalk art, it's the same concept.

If you start coloring at the bottom of your chalk art, you'll have to lean over the colored section and you may smudge it. Start coloring from the top of your drawing and you'll reduce any hassle or wreckage that may come with starting at the bottom.

Your neighbor may need a lot of white chalk, while you may need more red hues. Trade and save the quarters for the parking meters.(Photo: Melanie Lawder/Daily Herald Media)

5. Trade chalk with other artists

All participating artists get a set of chalk as part of their registration fee, but that doesn't necessarily mean they'll have enough to complete their squares.

Some masterpieces require the artist use one color heavily — for example, a picture of fish in water may require a lot of blue — and ultimately, they run out out of that one hue.

"You learn that your pastels don't go very far," McBain said. Of course, the CVA will be selling additional rations at 25 cents per chalk stick, but you may be able to save a few quarters by bartering with your fellow artists for chalk that they're not using.

Your neighbor may need a lot of white chalk, while you may need more red hues. Trade and save the quarters for the parking meters.

Using a damp sponge to blend dry chalk will allow the colors to seep through the pores of the concrete.(Photo: Melanie Lawder/Daily Herald Media)

6. Use the water technique, if you're a little more experienced

If this year is your first time on the Chalkfest scene, then McBain said it's best to start using dry chalk to create your masterpiece.

But once you have some experience under your belt, McBain recommends graduating to the water method to enhance the aesthetics of your artwork.

Using a damp sponge to blend dry chalk will allow the colors to seep through the pores of the concrete, McBain said. This allows you to blend different colors more effectively and results in your chalk art appearing more like a painting, he said.

7. Come back to Chalkfest next year

The more your hands get dirty with chalk dust from practice, the more familiar you'll get with crafting masterpieces out of chalk.

So consider returning to Chalkfest next summer to refine your skill.

Practice makes perfect, after all.

Going Out Reporter Melanie Lawder can be reached at mlawder@gannett.com or 715-845-0607. Find her on Twitter as @mel_lawder.

Chalkfest had to be covered up on Saturday as rain approached from the west. (Photo: Dan Young/Daily Herald Media)